Chelsea Arsenal as Villas Boas bets on Sturridge as goalscorer

With Chelsea facing a big London derby against Arsenal this weekend, manager Andre Villas-Boas has dedicated the club’s Carling Cup win over Everton to under-fire captain John Terry as Skybet announce offer free bets on the game.

Terry, who was not in the squad for the 2-1 extra-time victory at Goodison Park, faces a FA investigation into allegations he made a racist remark to Anton Ferdinand during Sunday’s defeat at neighbours QPR.

Some people claimed video replays from the Loftus Road clash showed Terry using racist language and the FA admits it has received a complaint.

But Villas-Boas is firmly behind his skipper, saying: “I think all the players would like to dedicate the win to John Terry.”

The Blues go into the Stamford Bridge encounter still smarting from the defeat at West London rivals Rangers and they’ll be determined to get back to winning ways against the Gunners, having seen Man City stretch their advantage to six points with that stunning 6-1 victory at Old Trafford.

But Arsenal are showing signs of returning to something near their best form and everyone knows that, on their day, the North London side have the quality to upset most teams.

The Gunners have, however, struggled away from the Emirates Stadium, with Arsene Wenger’s men failing to win on the road in eight Premier League trips – their worst run since 1992.

Wenger will have key defender Thomas Vermaelen available though, after the Belgian made his first start in more than two months in the midweek 2-1 Carling Cup win over Bolton.

In other team news, Jack Wilshere (ankle), Bacary Sagna (leg) and Carl Jenkinson (knee) are still missing for Arsenal and for the hosts, midfielder Ramires and Michael Essien will be absentees.

It remains to be seen if England captain Terry will be picked for this Saturday’s 12:45 kick-off and that could depend on any developments between now and then – as if a Chelsea v Arsenal contest needed a sub-plot.